Modern Times Modern Times
This was supposed to be Charlie Chaplin's first talkie, but he wisely realized that to preserve the charm of the Little Tramp, he also had to preserve the silence.
Dec 18, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Mark Van Doren
Atlantic City Atlantic City
Aging numbers-man Burt Lancaster yearns for the day when even the Atlantic Ocean "was something."
Dec 18, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Preston Sturges received two Oscar nominations for 1944 films. This was one of them--even though it was written on the fly as it was being filmed.
Dec 18, 2008 / Books & the Arts / James Agee
Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men
...And their sons. This film had the unusual distinction of starring two "Jr."s, Lon Chaney and Noah Beery, both scions of silent film actors.
Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Franz Hoellering
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
A movie that portrays politicians as corrupt? Believe it or not, this film nearly didn't get made for precisely that reason.
Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Franz Hoellering
Gone With the Wind Gone With the Wind
The film of Margaret Mitchell's bestselling saga of the ante- and post-bellum South set box office records that still stand.
Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Franz Hoellering
Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie and Clyde
In the era of the antihero, few were more antiheroic than Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.
Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch
All the President’s Men All the President’s Men
No one could put Richard Nixon back together again after Woodward and Bernstein got through with him.
Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch
Chinatown Chinatown
There's corruption in Los Angeles's water department and private detective Jake Gittes sticks his nose where he shouldn't-literally.
Dec 16, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Robert Hatch
Platoon Platoon
Oliver Stone's answer to probably every John Wayne war film ever made.
Dec 15, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Terrence Rafferty